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The world we live in is a world of diversity. Not all people have the same skin colour, not all adhere to the same faith and not all eat the same food. It is only through embracing diversity; can the world be at peace. In this light, let’s note how the ‘black lives matter’ protest that began in the US is compelling brands to halt their endorsement of any particular colour.
(Also read: A Simple Guide to US Elections)
(Source: <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/human’>Human vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com</a>)
The black lives matter protest- What is it?
Most of us think that the movement originated in 2020 after the death of a 46-year old black man, George Floyd, due to excessive use of force by white Minneapolis police officers in the US. It is true that the killing of George Floyd shone a spotlight on the movement as protests and rallies were noticed across the US and other countries under a single hashtag. But the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been a rallying call since 2013 when one white man George Zimmerman escaped any punishment in the shooting of an African-American teen.
The ultimate aim of these protests and the movement around this hashtag is to make people aware of the bias and prejudice faced by people of colour in the United States and other European countries. Ending white supremacy is the ultimate goal.
The world of diversity
Did you know Kuwait, a country in the middle east that has enormous oil reserves, has a population of 4.3 million, out of which 3 million are expats (foreign workers)? Did you know India, the country widely believed as having a very large Hindu population, also has the third highest Muslim population in the world? As the world grows on various counts, the boundaries of colour, ethnicity, race and religion have been blurring. That migrants from the Sikh community can change the electoral outcome in Canada is a well-known fact. Peaceful and unprejudiced co-existence, therefore, is much-needed.
Day of reckoning for brands
Brands, however, did not acknowledge this diversity until lately. The black lives matter movement has now compelled them to reconsider their love for white colour. Unilever Plc has decided that the company will drop the term ‘fair’ from its melanin-suppressing product ‘fair & lovely’. As per industry estimates, Indians are the biggest consumers of fairness products. The company that makes Ponds has considered halting the use of words like fairness and whitening from its range of products. Johnson & Johnson has also stopped selling its Clean Clear brands.
What’s more? Twitter is halting the use of such technical terms as master, slave and blacklist from its programming codes. Google is also urging developers to avoid the terms blacklist and whitelist.
It’s our turn
Indeed, it is ‘we, the people’ who can bring the ultimate change. By endorsing a peaceful, just movement like black lives matter, we bring to the notice of brands the need to reconsider their advertising strategies. Let’s make this diverse world a little more beautiful and inclusive.
(Previous blog: 5 Easy Ways to Effectively Manage Studies During COVID-19 Times)
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